Bedtime Routine

kateamart · June 2015

Hi Ladies, I'm curious what your bedtime routine is with your LO? It continues to be the most challenging part of our day.

Last night, starting at 845P I nursed my LO (just over 2 weeks old) for a long time, then changed and swaddled him, rocked and read him a book, and tried to put him down to sleep. Between crying, wanting to be held, wanting to feed more (which I don't believe because he literally spits it all back up moments afterward -- I realized this after 4 short on-demand feedings last night, all followed by spitting up)--, being wide awake, etc., I finally got him settled at 1200AM, just minutes before his next regular feeding!

Taking 3+ hours to get him to bed seems to be a regular occurrence, which is frustrating because I'd love to be getting some sleep in between those feedings. We haven't used a pacifier yet, which I'm thinking about trying.

Does anyone have any advice on how to avoid the nightly meltdown?

mbt385 · June 2015

I'm right there with you! I now believe bedtime is my LO's fussy time of the day. It also takes us a while to get her down despite doing a nightly routine. Once she does go down, she sleeps soundly for 3 hours or so, though. It's just convincing her that the bassinet is as cozy as mom and dad's chest that is the challenge!

kt1244 · June 2015

I change her or bathe her before the bottle. Then, right after the bottle I give her a pacifier because she likes to comfort suck. She usually goes to sleep soon after unless she's having an off night.

I find that changing after the bottle wakes her up more. The bottle usually puts her to sleep. That's just my experience though.

She's almost 3 weeks.

Megaphone2752 · June 2015

I started my routine between 7 and 8 weeks right after DD had her first longer sleeps. I found she was sleeping longer starting around 10 and then I just worked backed from there. I feed her around 9, then give her a bath, put her in pajamas, let her play on her mat, and then right before it looks like she's going to get fussy, I scoop her up, read, and then feed again until she falls asleep. It's working really well now, but I'm not sure if it would have had I done it earlier. It felt like she kind of picked her bedtime and then I just put the routine in before and that's how it's come together to work well.

alliebsmith · June 2015

My LO has been fussy at bedtime too! I notice between 7-10 she wants extra feedings and she is inconsolable, crying even when held or rocked. I always change her before bottle so that she can doze off with a full tummy but I found myself driving her in the car last night after trying to calm her down from 7-11 and she fell asleep immediately. She's only 2 weeks and I do not want her to get used to going in the car to sleep but I also cannot bear to listen to her scream for hours. I think once she gets a little older and can be put on more of a schedule we will be okay, right now she can't self soothe. Hang in there!

TBsquared · June 2015

No routine I just let her sleep when she wants to and I sleep when she sleeps. Usually she's in bed by 10/11. She sleeps for 4 hrs, Wakes to eats and goes back down for 4-5 hours and then it's morning. And she sleeps most of the day still.

sailaplay · June 2015

At 2 weeks I also don't worry about routine yet. She's the boss, I'm just along for the ride. She seems ready for bed between 9 and 10 and I go to sleep with her. She also has a fussy couple of hours before that. In time, I'll start a routine but I truly consider the first 3 months the 4th trimester and feel that she is telling me what she needs.

nursej519 · June 2015

DD is 5 weeks and no routine here. She is the boss, as a PP mentioned. I try to do the same pattern of things but not on a certain time schedule.

gkrenzel · June 2015

At 2 weeks we are on a somewhat consistent bedtime schedule, set by DD.
She has a bit of a fussy time anywhere from 6-9, I just try to feed/cuddle/etc to calm her then. At 9:30-10 I change her diaper, get into clean onesie for bed, and feed her. 10-11 I put her in sleep swaddler and put her to bed. She'll wake up at 4 for a feed, then back down until DH gets up for work at 8.

keitlin415 · June 2015

My best advice would be to just keep it consistent so baby can learn the routine. Doing a bath every night really helps get their little bodies warm and calm and ready to rest, and it is how we start our bedtime routine. Been giving my 18 month old a bath every night since the umbilical cord fell off (unless we stay out too late lol).

CanadaMom17 · June 2015

She sleeps hard between like 6pm and 8pm, but I get her up for a bath/wash up, feed, and into her own bed by ideally 10. She has her big feed/supplement in our chair, but I then take her with her bf'ing pillow into my bed, let her comfort/soothe with my breast as 'pacifier' as it were, and then when she's asleep, take the nipple out of her mouth, and let her knock off deeper into sleep and carefully put her in her bassinet. I repeat the feeding onwards when she wakes around 12:30, get her back into bed around 2am, and then a couple of lucky nights, she sleeps a four hour chunk. I confess some nights the second round she ends up sleeping on my chest in bed, with my elbows propped so we don't roll. I have found the idea of using my therapy heat bag to warm the bassinet a bit before setting her in it has helped a lot with her staying asleep when I put her in bed. Ideally, it would be good to get her to bed earlier, but since she's wide awake at her 6am feeding, I'd rather it not be a 4am feeding...

Bedtime Routine

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